With Indonesia’s average life expectancy increasing to 71 years, the Social Affairs Ministry plans to revise up the legal age criteria for someone to be officially declared a senior citizen from 60 years to 65.
Social Affair Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita was quick to clarify that the move was not based on the government’s limited budget for providing basic services to the elderly.
The latest Health Ministry data showed that the average life expectancy for Indonesian women is 74 years and 69 years for men.
Law No. 13/1998 on senior citizens stipulates that a senior citizen is any person aged 60 and older.
The United Nations carries the same definition, while some developed nations use 65 and above.
“The ages of 60 and 65 are often used, despite their arbitrary nature, for which the origins and surrounding debates can be followed from the en...